Senators urge FCC to enforce cell phone tower regulations

Senators urge FCC to enforce cell phone tower regulations

Hill Hot over Workers' Exposure

FCC Source: Look for Order on Exposure Issues by Year-End
John Eggerton, MultiChannel News, Sep 17, 2015

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.,), ranking member of the House Communications Subcommittee, are accusing the FCC of failing to enforce safety guidelines on cell tower worker exposure to radiofrequency radiation, saying they are putting the health and safety of a quarter of a million workers at risk.

An FCC source said the commission continues to address the safety issues, enforce its rules, and to look for an order on exposure issues by year's end.

In a letter to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, the powerful Democrats said that "even though the FCC recommends that wireless carriers control exposure to harmful RF radiation using safety protocols such as signs, barricades, and training, it has come to our attention that these recommendations have not consistently been implemented to protect workers."

They said beyond the hazards to cell tower workers of free-standing structures, the towers are now found atop all kinds of buildings from apartments and schools to hospitals, churches and fire stations, "putting RF technicians but also roofers, water proofers, electricians, carpenters, building maintenance personnel, HVAC technicians, painters, firefighters" and others at risk from the radiation.

"[w]’ve received the letter and are reviewing it," said an FCC spokesperson.

The senators recognized that in March 2013, the FCC issued a report and order reminding FCC licensees of their obligations regarding worker exposure, including fully informing them of the risk and their control over that exposure. But the FCC also issued a further notice with specific requirements for exposure limits in various categories.

The senators want the FCC to finalize that NPRM and to consult with OSHA to make sure it has teeth.

"It is unacceptable that RF warning signs have been found missing, mislabeled, unintelligible, or out-of-date, and that strategies to control access (e.g. barricades, locks, and fences) are in disrepair, they said.

The FCC has made deploying wireless broadband a priority, including easing tower citing. But the legislators don't want that to come at the expense of safety.

"We look forward to hearing what next steps you have planned to make sure that the expansion of our telecommunications infrastructure does not come at the expense of the health and safety of hardworking Americans," they wrote.

An FCC source said staffers are actively working on the issue, and that they are coordinating with OSHA as well as the FDA and EPA.

The commission has also taken enforcement actions regarding rooftop exposure signage. As to the NPRM: The source said look for an order by the end of the year.

“CTIA is not a scientific organization and we defer to the appropriate and qualified experts, such as the Federal Communications Commission," said CTIA: The Wireless Association SVP and general counsel Tom Power in response to the legislators' letter. "The Food and Drug Administration, the American Cancer Society and the World Health Organization (WHO), on RF safety. As the WHO has observed, '[f]rom all evidence accumulated so far, no adverse short- or long-term health effects have been shown to occur from the RF signals produced by base stations.' In light of this guidance, and the fact that  the wireless industry makes every effort to comply with the FCC’s existing rules in this area, there is no evidence to conclude that the existing rules are inadequate.”http://bit.ly/1KU2mea

http://bit.ly/1KU2mea

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Senators urge FCC to enforce cell phone tower regulations

Matt Buynak, WTNH, Sep 17, 2015

WASHINGTON (WTNH) — Senator Richard Blumenthal is raising concerns about the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) efforts to ensure that those working in close proximity to cellular antennas are not exposed to dangerous levels of radiofrequency (RF) radiation.

“Even though the FCC recommends that wireless carriers control exposure to harmful RF radiation using safety protocols such as signs, barricades, and training, it has come to our attention that these recommendations have not consistently been implemented to protect workers,” Blumenthal and Sen. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., wrote to the FCC chairman.

“Excessive exposure to RF radiation leads to well-documented potential harms, especially to workers who spend time near the antenna and in the line of the antenna’s beam. At sufficient power levels and exposure durations, RF radiation has the ability to heat biological tissue. Thermal effects can include eye damage, sterility, and cognitive impairments,” they wrote.

The senators say one in 10 cell phone antenna sites violate FCC rules designed to protect workers from excessive radiofrequency radiation.

http://bit.ly/1Lk5xKO

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Also see:

Cellphone Boom Spurs Antenna-Safety Worries
Many Sites Violate Rules Aimed at Protecting Workers From Excessive Radio-Frequency Radiation

Ianthe Jeanne Dugan and Ryan Knutson, Wall Street Journal, Oct 2, 2014

http://www.wsj.com/articles/cellphone-boom-spurs-antenna-safety-worries-1412293055

Cell Tower Radiation Affects Wildlife: Dept. of Interior Attacks FCC
http://www.saferemr.com/2014/03/dept-of-interior-attacks-fcc-regarding.html

Cell Tower Health Effects
Joel Moskowitz, Electromagnetic Radiation Safety, Aug 6, 2015
http://bit.ly/saferemrtower

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Joel M. Moskowitz, Ph.D., Director
Center for Family and Community Health
School of Public Health
University of California, Berkeley

Electromagnetic Radiation Safety

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